GetFit - Weight loss led to MaxForm Life Challenge victory

Published: Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at 11:46 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at 11:46 a.m.

On Sept. 9, David Calhoun was as excited as ever to hear the phone ring. On the other end of the call were Max Muscle president Sean Greene and founder Joe Wells. They were calling to congratulate him on winning the MaxForm Life Challenge.

David lost 71 pounds and dropped his body fat by more than 20 percentage points during the competition. Altogether, he dropped more than 100 pounds.

Weight loss is only part of the story, though. Calhoun also added muscle. The photos on the Max Muscle web site show the biceps and shoulders of a middle linebacker.

His reward has been a new outlook on life, advanced goals and determination. Oh … and $25,000.

We caught up with him the day before he was scheduled to fly to California for a photo shoot for the Max Sports and Fitness magazine cover.

Most significant change your transformation has made in your life: Mentally, my outlook is entirely different. I want to become a personal trainer and help people the way Alex Croteau (trainer at Cage Academy) and Artie Quaranta (owner of Max Muscle in Wilmington) helped me.

Who or what keeps you motivated? My wife has been my biggest supporter. She did a lot with meal prep. Between her and Alex, they would team up on me. There was no way to cheat.

Biggest obstacle: The convenience of food. Quick, easy options are not the most nutritious. I had to get everyone else to understand that I can’t drink beer with them or eat the garbage they eat.

Favorite quote: “Impossible is nothing” (tattooed on Calhoun’s right shin).

Full quote, sometimes credited to Muhammad Ali: “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live the world they have been given, rather than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It is an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It is a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”

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